''Such Good People'' is a 2014 American feature film comedy from director by Stewart Wade, screenwriter

David Michael Barrett David Michael Barrett (born April 3, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film producer in Los Angeles, California. Best known for his films '' Bad Actress'', '' Such Good People'' and '' Kiss Me, Kill Me'', his play ''Brentwood'' was featured ...

, and editor David Avallone, who produced the film under their banner, Such Good Productions. The picture had its world premiere at MiFo: Miami Fort Lauderdale LGBT Film Festival on May 9, 2014 at the historic Colony Theater on Lincoln Road. ''Such Good People'' tells the story of Richard (

Michael Urie Michael Lorenzo Urie (born August 8, 1980) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC comedy drama television series ''Ugly Betty'' and Brian on the Apple TV+ series '' Shrinking'', a role for which he won ...

) and Alex ( Randy Harrison) who, while house-sitting for rich humanitarian friends, find a huge stash of cash in the residence. When the homeowners die in a car crash, altruism and greed collide as Richard and Alex try to decide what to do with the money.

Plot

Young couple Richard (

) and Alex ( Randy Harrison) want what everyone wants: career, kids and a gorgeous home in L.A. But it all seems so impossible until they crash a party at Edendale, their dream house, owned by Jake (

Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. In television, he is known for his roles as Bailey Salinger in ''Party of Five'' (1994–2000), as Jeremy Kates in '' The Nine'' (2006–2007), as Donnie Ryan in ''Perception'' (2013– ...

) and Chloe ( Kate Reinders), who are hosting a fundraiser for the orphans of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

. Richard and Alex hit it off with the hosts, and while house-sitting for them, discover a secret room filled with a million in cash. When Jake and Chloe die in a "rickshaw accident" overseas, Richard and Alex worry the cash might not go to the orphans, so they break into Edendale and take the money. They earnestly try to donate the money to Jigme Wangchuck (

Alec Mapa Alejandro "Alec" Mapa (; born July 10, 1965) is an United States, American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway theatre, Broadway product ...

), the deputy ambassador of the Embassy of Bhutan, and his assistant Priti Khagda (

Tania Gunadi Tania Gunadi (born 29 July 1983) is an Indonesian actress. She moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. She is best known for playing Emma Lau / Dark Tamera on '' Aaron Stone'', Miko Nakadai on '' Transformers: Prime'', Sashi Kobayashi on ...

). But the Embassy officials, thinking they're being set up, refuse the money. So Richard and Alex deposit the cash, find another charity, and end up writing a check to "The Porpoise Purpose," headed by Stuart Hendron (

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...

) and his assistant Olivier (

Mitch Silpa Mitch Silpa (born December 5, 1971) is an American writer, actor, and director who starred in NBC's '' The Rerun Show'', and has appearances in shows such as '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Gilmore G ...

). Just then, they learn from their Realtor, Logan, (

Tom Lenk Thomas Loren Lenk (born June 16, 1976) is an American film and television actor, best known for portraying the character of Andrew Wells in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Early life Lenk was born in Camarillo, California, th ...

), that Edendale is now on the market. They really want it but have given the money to the porpoise charity—so they stop payment on the check and use the money as down payment on the house, intending to repay the charity by taking out a second mortgage once escrow closes. But tough yet savvy LAPD Detective Dianne Kershman (

Ana Ortiz Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in ballet and singing from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred ...

) sees things differently. She tells Richard and Alex that Jake and Chloe were in fact murdered. Worried the killers must be after the money, they panic and confide in Alex's half-sister, Paige (Carrie Wiita) and her husband, Cooper (

James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in '' ...

) who are therapists and RX drug dealers. Paige and Cooper realize the money Jake had owed them somehow ended up with Richard and Alex, whom they convince to take out the second mortgage—in cash. And after an ill-fated labradoodle kidnapping and hostage stand-off, Paige and Cooper discover the money hidden in the house and take it. Shattered, Richard and Alex do in fact sell Edendale. They repay the Porpoise Purpose, as Det. Kershman had pretty much guaranteed jail-time if they didn't. Richard and Alex then learn from Jake and Chloe's questionable Buddhist lawyer Sidney (

Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American actor and screenwriter. His writing credits include ''Dennis Miller Live'' (1994–2002), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award, while his acting credits include '' Gung Ho'' and '' O ...

) that they were in possession of a rare Bhutanese artifact of Jake and Chloe's, the Kuntu Zangpo, worth $10 million, which Paige and Cooper also took. They interrupt Paige and Cooper's black market sale to art dealer Clay Hampton (

Drew Droege Andrew Gerhardt Droege (pronounced ; born February 9, 1977) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and director best known for his online impressions of Chloë Sevigny. Early life and education Droege attended and graduated from Lincolnton Hig ...

), and get them—and Sidney—to confess. Det. Kershman rushes in and arrests Paige and Cooper for, among other things, drug dealing. She thanks Richard and Alex for helping with the sting. The chastened couple flies to Bhutan and returns the $10 million tchotchke to the orphanage, run by Buddhist monk Chana Dorje (Kee Chan) and they finally get their wish—they adopt a young boy, Kuenphay ( Forrest Wheeler). They couldn't be happier. Well, maybe they could—if they had a house.

Cast

as Richard * Randy Harrison as Alex *

as Cooper *

as Jake *

as Det. Kershman * Carrie Wiita as Paige *

as Sidney * Kate Reinders as Chloe *

as Stuart *

as Logan *

as Olivier *

as Jigme *

as Clay *

as Priti * Adam Huss as Officer Cross * Kee Chan as Chana Dorje * Forrest Wheeler as Little Kuenlay/Little Kuenphay

Casting

Producers David Avallone,

and Stewart Wade cast the movie with actors well known to LGBT audiences.

, who plays “Richard,” was one of the stars of

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

. Several cast members of ''Such Good People'' appeared on ''Ugly Betty'', including

(also from ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, ...

''), comedian

(who also appeared in Stewart Wade's film '' Tru Loved''), and Broadway star Kate Reinders. Randy Harrison, who plays “Alex,” is best known for starring in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

series, ''Queer as Folk''. Other cast members well known to LGBT audiences are

, (former member of

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

, ( ''Bridesmaids''),

(''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

''), and,

. Additionally, the movie has comedians

(''

Henry Fool ''Henry Fool'' is a 1997 American black comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Hal Hartley, featuring Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, and Parker Posey. Set like previous Hartley films in less affluent parts of Long Island, it re ...

''), Carrie Wiita,

and improv performer

( ''Groundhog Day''). Forrest Wheeler from ''Fresh Off the Boat'' and

from ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

'', join Kee Chan ( ''Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'') to round out the cast. Notable cameos include: Adam Huss ( ''Power''), Adam Bucci ( ''Eastsiders''),

Jason-Shane Scott Jason-Shane Scott (born December 29, 1975) is an American actor. Life and career Scott was born in Southern California. At the age of two he moved to Reno, Nevada with his mother and older sister while making frequent trips to Los Angeles to ...

(''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''), Jeff Marchelletta, Ryan Spahn, John Halbach ( ''Eastsiders''), Allison Lane ('' Going Down in LA-LA Land'') and Mario Diaz (''Club King''). Editor-producer David Avallone also makes a cameo, in the role of “Sketchy Man.”

Production

After a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to raise initial funds, ''Such Good People'' went into production on May 22, 2013 for a 16-day shoot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In addition to director Stewart Wade, screenwriter

and editor David Avallone, other key members of the production team were cinematographer Pierluigi Malavasi, composer Jonathan Dinerstein, and line producer Christine Triebel and Production Manager was Nicole Ettinger. Production Designer was Roman Udalov, Art Direction was by Dare Williams, Costume Design was by Cari Avila, Hair and Makeup was by Kat Laskey. The "Kuntu Zangpo" was created and designed by Harwood Lee, of Commercial Costumes. The house prominently featured in the movie, "Edendale," is in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, and is owned by writer/producer David Michael Barrett.

Distribution

At the conclusion of the worldwide festival run of ''Such Good People'', the film sold to Breaking Glass Entertainment who are distributing the movie on DVD, Blu-ray as well as streaming online streaming platforms

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Vudu Fandango at Home (formerly known as Vudu) is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand re ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

Movies and others all over the world.

References

# # # #

External links

* *
Such Good People
production crowdsourcing campaign on Kickstarter *{{Official website, http://suchgoodpeoplemovie.com 2014 films American comedy films American LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related comedy films 2014 LGBTQ-related films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films